Publisher's Column

It took God six days to create the heavens and the earth before resting on the seventh day. That is what I hope to do today, though my work on building NSBNEWS.net is far from over. I am just so overwhelmed by the number of hits -- close to 4,400 early this Sunday morning.

Those who visit the Web site will see that some things are accessible while others either aren't or are empty. There is no way around this with very limited resources, though hard work and perseverance will pay dividends.

Pulling into my favorite filling station near Sugar Mill, I noticed a big sticker on the gas pump that said less than 10 percent ethanol.
The proprietor of the station informed me that there was no ethanol in the gas yet but in a month there would be. The next thing I did was to call Bob of Bob’s Automotive and ask if using ethanol would hurt my car. His answer was that unless my car is designed to use ethanol the ethanol will cause excessive wear on the engine.

The great thing about the Internet is the rapid speed by which news and other sources of information can be delivered to online readers. The technology in delivering it can be technical and tricky as is the case with nsbnews.net, now in its fifth day. We are a mere infant, yet we are experiencing rapid growing pains. In the last 24 hours our page count has nearly doubled and there´s plenty more on the way over the next 48 hours.

One of the truly good things about an education is that nothing and nobody can keep you from getting an education if you truly want one. This follows from the fact that all you need to become educated is to read good books and articles and talk to knowledgeable people. Most truly educated people put a lot of individual effort into their education independent of any formal education.

Parents and children in places like Samsula and Oak Hill are justifiably angry over the proposed closing of their small, well performing student- and parent-friendly schools to send the students to much larger, impersonal and potentially dangerous schools.
It has been established that students learn better and are safer in small schools that in large, impersonal schools with ever-shrinking parent participation.

Welcome to nsbnews.net, your newest forum for news in Southeast Volusia. This 24-hour news service is the first of a two-step process in providing comprehensive journalism for the residents and merchants of greater New Smyrna Beach. In the coming weeks, we will be developing a weekly tabloid newspaper, NSB News. People have often asked me why I don't just start up my own newspaper, considering my years of experience. Now that I have, some are asking if it will work out in a weakened economy.

Over a decade ago the Save Our Homes amendment was passed to keep Floridians from being taxed to death on their property by greedy politicians. This amendment was a good idea except for the fact that it did not protect everybody. Only people with homestead exemption were protected. The rest were left to the "tender mercies" of the politicians and the tax collectors.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- It´s pretty exciting since there's been little marketing. Day two was particularly busy because I also covered a daylong trial for an Oak Hill sex predator. It's an important community story you won't read in today's established print newspaper.